C
FOR THE LOVE OF THE Written Word
Written Word
heryl Lu-Lien Tan is a New York-based journalist and author of “A Tiger In The Kitchen: A Memoir of Food & Family” (Hyperion, 2011). She is the editor of the fiction anthology “Singapore Noir” (Akashic Books, 2014) and is currently working on her first novel. She was a staff writer at the Wall Street Journal, In Style magazine and the Baltimore Sun. Her stories have also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Marie Claire, Newsweek, Bloomberg Businessweek, Martha Stewart Weddings, Chicago Tribune, The (Portland) Oregonian, The (Topeka) CapitalJournal and The (Singapore) Straits Times among other publications. Cheryl also found time to mentor college students in journalism as a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. Cheryl, from the class of 1992 (home tutorial group A1), still remembers vividly her two years in CJC as ‘two of the best years in my life’. She stated emphatically, “Everything became very focused because of my teachers, my classmates and the college activities”. Cheryl has been residing in the United States since 1993 but she often comes back to Singapore to visit her family and to engage in research for her writing. Her books are unique in that they are inspired by her love of her grandmother’s pineapple tarts and Peranakan food.
Cheryl has always been passionate about reading and stated that she used to borrow books from the National Library and read ten books a week. She also aspired to be a writer even at the age at five when she wrote a short story about a woman who became pregnant, went to the market and gave birth! Cheryl was supposed to pursue a law degree but she chose to follow her dream to be a writer. After graduating from CJC, she studied journalism in the United States. Her creative talent was nurtured by excellent Literature teachers in CHIJ and CJC. She remembers with great fondness her Primary 6 English teacher, Ms Magdalene Chen, and her Literature teachers in CJC, especially Ms Marion Green, Ms Evelyn Ng and Mr Chiam Toon Ling. “Literature lectures were always stimulating and enjoyable!” Another CJC teacher who had an impact on Cheryl was her home tutor, Mrs Kuah Siou Koon. Intense involvement in CCA also forms part of her happy memories of CJC. Cheryl was a student councillor and the President of the Debate Society. She proudly recalls that the debating team made it to the finals of the Radio and Television Singapore Debate Competition for Junior Colleges in 1991. One of her favourite spots in CJC was the Council Room where she did her studying between classes. She still has her CJ school uniform, college pin and Council badge. We are indeed very proud of Cheryl and her achievements!
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